Critical thinking strategies for good writing skills
BEGS 183 Solved Assignment 2021-22 Critical thinking is the process of identifying and
solving problems by gathering information, analyzing and evaluating evidence,
discovering patterns, and reasoning logically. Critical thinking strategies for good writing skills Critical thinking in writing
means asking the right questions and questioning the old, no-longer-obvious
answers. It means, in the end, finding solutions that are effective and
efficient—and, often, new.
BEGS 183 Solved Assignment 2021-22 Let’s say that you ask one of your employees to write a
recommendation report. Critical thinking strategies for good writing skills In this report, she is to consider whether your company
should change the vendor who provides the paper for your copying machines,
printers, and paper publications. Critical thinking strategies for good writing skills The report will recommend either staying with
the old vendor or choosing a new one.
How should this writer proceed? That’s where critical
thinking comes in.
The first thing we recommend is that the report writer
consider two basic questions:
1.
Who will read the report?
2.
What is the purpose of the report?
If the only answers the writer can come up with are “my
boss” and “to help my boss choose a paper vendor,” she’s not thinking
critically. Critical thinking strategies for good writing skills For one thing, it’s likely that the report will have many readers,
including the CEO, the CFO, the COO, the Chief Procurement Officer, and maybe
even some department heads who use a lot of paper.
The purpose of the report may likewise be a bit more
complex: it may be used, for example, not just to help in the paper-buying
decision, but also as a model for future recommendation reports about other
vendors, and its recommendation will certainly influence the work of many
others in the workplace (anyone, for example, who Critical thinking strategies for good writing skills will have to make copies with
cheap but inferior paper, if that’s the recommendation).
And, of course, another purpose of the document is
to make the writer’s supervisor appreciate her reliability, thoroughness, and
intelligence. Critical thinking strategies for good writing skills
1.
What information should be included? Cost
and quality of paper, of course, but what about payment schedules, customer
service, warranties, Critical thinking strategies for good writing skills vendors’ histories and reputations, recycling strategies,
and so on? What information is relevant, and what isn’t?
2.
What sources of information should the writer
consult? The Internet? Vendors’ sales staffs? Fellow employees? The
opinions of other companies like the writer’s own?
3.
What level of technical sophistication should
the report assume about its readers? For example, can the writer assume
that her readers will understand the difference between, say, 20-
weight/96-bright paper and 24-weight/92-bright paper?
4.
What’s the best way to present information? Should
pricing information, for example, be presented in paragraph form, in charts, or
in tables? Critical thinking strategies for good writing skills Should testimonials from other companies about potential vendors be
presented in bulleted lists or in paragraphs?
5.
How should the report be organized? Much
like code needs to be ordered to execute the right way, or an engineering
design needs its component parts to fit together just right to work right, a
written document relies on its organization to communicate information
effectively.
6.
How should it be designed? Words are
foundational, but they’re not the only element of any communication. Critical thinking strategies for good writing skills The design
– including layout, formatting, and visual elements – can serve to strengthen,
reinforce, and contextualize the writing.
7.
What tone and level of language sophistication
should the document display? This, in turn, depends on the audience. Critical thinking strategies for good writing skills What
will they understand, respect, and respond to?
These can be challenging questions, and only someone
practiced in thinking critically knows to raise and answer such questions.
You may also notice that not a single one of these
questions says anything about subject-verb agreement, active verbs, parallel
structure, sentence fragments, or commas.
It’s true that proper grammar and punctuation, and an
effective style, are important in any document; but far more important is the
critical thinking that goes into it. Critical thinking strategies for good writing skills The best grammar and the most stylish
writing in the world are not of much use if the content and design of a document
are not appropriate to the task—if they don’t make the document persuasive
and usable for its audience and purpose.